Society needs to practice a little more empathy

I could care less if it is, because the fact is, a sitting president came out in support of gay marriage.

North Carolina became the 30th state to approve a constitutional ban on gay marriage. That I care about, and I care about every religious leader and conservative talk show host who claims that our president declared war on marriage.

The only ones declaring a war on anything are in states such as North Carolina and individuals who attempt to ensure that gay couples cannot even wink at each other without being thrown in jail.

Gays are not waging a war on marriage or pushing their views on anyone.

They aren’t forcing heterosexuals into gay marriage. They aren’t asking that people support it.

They are asking that they be allowed to live their lives as consenting adults, as others are allowed to do, and not be controlled by people who disagree with them.

Imagine if we were allowed to control everyone we disagreed with. You’d see no one walking the streets with tiny dogs, because I don’t particularly care for them.

It is the groups opposed to gay marriage that are forcing their views on everyone else. They don’t seem to be happy enough that they get to freely believe as they want and enjoy their individual rights.

They seem to want to force everyone to live by their views.

That doesn’t bode well for anyone who is not a conservative or a Christian in this country. I have nothing against either group, until members of the groups start acting like tyrants and demanding that everyone live and believe as they do. Well, not actually live as they do, because they are allowed to marry each other, as long as they are not gay.

No one is trying to force you to agree with gay marriage or participate in it.

So why are you trying to force people to abide by your beliefs?

Let’s examine another aspect of this.

When you tell someone who is gay that they are wrong, you are telling that person something in the very core of who they are is wrong.

When done enough times, that becomes verbal and psychological abuse.

That may not be the intention, but that is the outcome.

Studies indicate that psychological abuse is often more damaging than physical abuse. In many cases it leads to suicide.

So why do people gasp in disbelief when someone punches someone else, yet often say next to nothing when witnessing psychological abuse?

Shouldn’t we be more outraged by the act that inflicts more pain and causes sometimes deadly damage?

I am not advocating restricting free speech and jailing people for their words, just that people consider the harm they may be causing when they are shooting off their mouths about their beliefs and views.

Let’s call it what it is when we see people doing this, on either side of the fence. They aren’t practicing their free speech, they are hurting people. They are jump-starting the next suicide in the area.

When people vote to pass a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, they aren’t practicing their views or beliefs, they are forcing those views and beliefs on others and oppressing people.

At the same time, the atheist needs to check him or herself when claiming that the site of a nativity scene is more than he or she can handle.

Everyone should practice a little empathy. Imagine if a belief system based on empathy replaced the idea that it is acceptable to bend the rest of society toward one’s own will.

Reach Editor Stephen Bartlett at stephen@denpubs.com.

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